


Time Does Away

by froochette



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Lucid Dreaming, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27694823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froochette/pseuds/froochette
Summary: Sakyo relives a pivotal point in his life. It comes with bittersweet feelings and makes him face his regrets.-Sakyo Bday Week Day 2: Regrets
Kudos: 10
Collections: Sakyo Bday Week 2020





	Time Does Away

_ Just two more hours _ . Two more hours until Sakyo can go watch Natsugumi’s play. Sakyo watches himself as he fidgets in his seat, drumming his pencil on the open textbook in front of him. His eyes shoot around the classroom at his droning teacher and his indifferent classmates. A few minutes later, the bell rings and Sakyo shoots up out of his desk, sweeping his belongings into his bag. Before he can make a dash out of the classroom, his teacher stops him. 

“Sakyo, you haven’t paid the field trip fee yet. Are you not going?” they ask, watching as Sakyo shifts from foot to foot. 

“No, I’m not,” he shakes his head. 

“Oh, okay, well, you’re free to go. Just wanted to make sure.” He doesn’t even hear the rest of his teacher’s sentence as he bolts out of the room. He follows himself. Classrooms and faces are a blur as his feet carry him down hallways and flights of stairs. He just needs to make it to Mankai on time. He had saved up enough money for a single ticket, and he isn’t about to miss the show. Every ticket he’s bought to watch, he’s always scraped together just enough. The money mostly came from little jobs he did for elderly neighbors. The rest came from... less pleasant methods. But he needs these tickets. Mankai shows are the only thing keeping him sane. Sakyo despises what he’s done, but it’s too late now. He’s stopped going to the Mankai dorms for awhile now. The shame he feels is unrivaled. There’s no way he could show his face around the dorms anymore without being judged and turned away. Sakyo walks rapidly beside himself, money clenched tight in his fist. The look of determination on his younger face makes him chuckle a little. The laughter doesn’t last long. Sakyo stops in his tracks when he realizes his path is obstructed by a group of boys his age from another school. He shoves his money into his pocket and goes on the defensive immediately. Sakyo watches helplessly as his hands clench into fists. A cloud pulls over his younger face, curses and threats spilling from his mouth. He doesn’t have time for this bullshit, he says to them. In reply, they laugh and taunt. Before he knows it, fists are flying.  _ The money. Don’t let them touch the money, and it’ll be fine. Just shake them off. There’s an hour left. _

It’s never fair when it’s five against one. Sakyo can only watch.

When he hits the ground running again, the first thing Sakyo does is make sure he still has enough money. Not a coin out of place. As painlessly as he can, he lets out a sigh of relief. He checks the watch that sits on his trembling wrist, knuckles on his hands red and raw. Twenty minutes. Sakyo grimaces at himself. He’s unsightly, but he doesn’t even realize it. The huge bruises already forming on his face, the scrapes from the sidewalk with blood prickling to the surface of his skin- he doesn’t see any of it. His entire body aches but he forces himself to keep running. He just needs to get to Mankai.  _ Please _ . 

With only a few minutes left to spare, Sakyo watches as he stumbles into the lobby of the theater, slamming the crumpled money down onto the counter. The employee looks at him strangely but slides him his ticket anyway. Inside, the lights are already dim, and Sakyo inches his way to his seat. Soon enough, the curtain rises, and Sakyo sits back in his seat, feeling some sense of relief. Sakyo sits beside himself as the show begins. He watches himself laugh at the jokes. His heart aches for himself. As fat tears begin to roll down his younger face, Sakyo wants to reach out and shake him. Tell him that he should drop it all and follow his dreams. If he goes back to theater now, he can have a better chance at everything. He won’t regret as much, so go back to Mankai  _ now _ . 

But he can’t. As his younger self shakes with sobs, Sakyo gulps. He knows he can’t, he knows he never could have. If he had gone back to Mankai, he wouldn’t have been able to help support his mother, he knows that. What was Mankai going to do for him if he had stayed there? He sighs. Even now, as he works on his dream while making enough money, he can’t help but think about what would be different if he had relied on Mankai more. Two decades later, would Mankai still even be here? Without his money from the yakuza, would he have been able to keep Mankai afloat? If he had stuck with Mankai, would his mother have been prouder of him? He wouldn’t have had to lie to her about his job, and he wouldn’t have to worry about burdening her with being associated with a yakuza. After all, who wanted to say their son was a yakuza? What should he have done? Sakyo startles himself when his younger self jumps out of his seat. He runs out of the theater. 

Eyes flutter open and Sakyo takes in a sharp breath, eyes darting around the room. 

“Sakyo, are you awake?” Muku asks. Sakyo sits up on the couch. A blanket falls off his chest. Muku and Yuki are looking at him curiously. 

“How long was I out for?” Sakyo groans, rubbing his eyes. 

“Two hours, I think,” Yuki glances at the clock on the wall. Sakyo sighs and pushes the blanket off him. “You good, yakuza? You were tossing and turning. What were you dreaming about?”   
“Uh, just... Natsugumi’s play,” Sakyo waves the loaded question away.

“Oh!” Muku’s eyes sparkle, “I’m excited for you to see it, Sakyo! I think you’ll really like it. It’s like that series we read together last month!” Sakyo feels his heart twist. It’s different now.

“Really?” he begins to fold the blanket. 

“Yeah! I won’t say much because I think it’s better when you watch it for the first time,” Muku grins. Sakyo smiles a little, nodding. “One more week! Let’s do our best, Yuki!” Yuki agrees wholeheartedly and Sakyo feels bittersweet. For as much as he can dwell on his past, he can spend his time living in the present. Every decision he’s made up until now, whether or not he regrets it, it’s made opportunities for kids like the two sitting in front of him. Now, there’s a new Mankai, a new Natsugumi, and a new Sakyo. Time will do away with his regrets. He just has to be careful not to be swept away with them.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought this memory he recalls in the Ginji story would be useful for this prompt. It definitely hits me hard!


End file.
